Problems Plaguing a Local Church, Part 20
In our message, ROLES OF GOD (1 Cor. 10:27-11:16), Paul finished addressing the Corinthians’ questions on meats offered to idols, a discussion that was begun in chapter 8, before turning toward issues related to corporate worship in the local church there.
After addressing the specific issue of meats in pagan temples (1 Cor. 10:14-22) and looking again at meats in the marketplace (1 Cor. 10:25-26), Paul now turns to a third specific scenario in Corinth- what to do if you are invited to an unbeliever’s home and he offers you meats that may have been offered to an idol there (1 Cor. 10:27-30). In such cases, just as with the marketplace, Paul tells the knowledgeable Christian to “ask… no questions for conscience’ sake” (1 Cor. 10:27-28). This is not for their own conscience as they know the truth (1 Cor. 10:29-30), but for the unbeliever so he can have the best opportunity to hear the truth and it also for any Christian that may have come with them to the dinner who is struggling with idolatry to prevent him from stumbling (1 Cor. 8:7, 12; 10:12, etc.).
Sometimes, out of love, we are called to limit our Christian freedom to be a better witness of Jesus (1 Cor. 10:31). This also means leading a disciplined life- following Christ- so we can finish the race He has set before us well and bring honor and glory to Him (1 Cor. 9:19-27; 10:33; Heb. 12:1-2, etc.). As much as it depends on us, we do not want to give offense to anyone, whether they be unsaved non-Jewish people, unsaved ethnic Israelites or even Christian brothers so the lost can be saved by grace and Christians can become more like Jesus (Rom. 12:18; 1 Cor. 10:32 – Notice God refers Jewish people here specifically and separately in congruence with the truth that He still has a future plan for the nation Israel e.g. Rom. 11:25-29, etc.). Because of this, Paul urges us to “Imitate [him], just as [he] imitate[d] Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1) who did not seek to please Himself (Rom. 15:3) but “for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” as He looked to each of us whom He would save (Heb. 12:2).
Paul then turns to questions on corporate worship asked by the Corinthian church at that time starting with praise, much like he did the start of the book of First Corinthians, before addressing problems (1 Cor. 1:4-9; 11:2). The three areas of public worship in Corinth that he will speak to are #1 head coverings for ladies, #2 the Lord’s Supper and #3 spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 11:3-4, 20; 12:1, etc.). You might recall in our first message of this book I mentioned we would be looking at a specific local church that existed two thousand years ago, and some of the customs and issues we see from that time are specific to then, but there is still application to us because whatever we find in Corinth, we can apply to our world today through God’s eternal Word. For example, in the case of meats offered to idols that we just looked at, we do not have the same exact scenario of literal idol temples in the U.S. with meats being offered to them, but we do still have multiple ‘idols’ in our culture and can make direct application to our lives in that way (e.g. 1 Cor. 10:12-14, etc.). And so it is also in this passage as we look at head coverings which the Bible informs us was a “tradition” (1 Cor. 11:2) and “custom” (1 Cor. 11:16) in the first century world that Paul supported in that day (1 Cor. 11:2). We do not typically have head coverings in Western culture today, but there is application to us here as well because the tradition of that time pointed to an enduring truth from God’s Word on ROLES OF GOD that still bring peace and order to the church and family today (1 Cor. 14:33). God speaks His Word to us and was speaking it to Corinth also then to bring order out of chaos and to glorify Him (Gen. 1:1-3; John 1:1-5; 1 Cor. 10:31, etc.). The tradition of the first century pointed toward this enduring truth: while men and women are equal in value and essence, they are also different and made differently by God with different roles (1 Cor. 11:3-15).
*For more detailed information on this topic, please see SpringHill Bible Fellowship Church’s October 6, 2024 message (video above) covering this section of God’s Word.